The Thick of It

[chickenfeet]

So I watch about as much TV as a blind anteater, mostly because in my not very humble opinion most of it is utter shite. However, I've just discovered The Thick of It. This is Yes Minister for the age of Bliar and Chameleon and just as funny in a thoroughly vicious way, just like the real thing. The snark is first class; describing a minister as "the political equivalent of the house wine in a suburban Indian restaurant" for example. The Alastair Campbell look alike is priceless. So utterly unpleasant that nobody would dare make it up.

I can honestly say that one of the best decisions I ever made in my life was not to try and make my career in politics.

Comments

[itchyfidget.livejournal.com]

I tried it for a few minutes and it did nothing for me so I switched over. Should I have hung on for a bit longer? Is it one of those things you have to watch for a bit before it clicks?

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

It's in equal measure brilliant and horrible. It's the sort of thing one watches with horrified fascination (like a shark attack). Everything I know about both British and Canadian politics says that it is frighteningly accurate and the member of the flist who is an up and coming civil servant confirms that it is.

I'd be curious to know whether your more optimistic view of politics survives watching a few episodes.

[itchyfidget.livejournal.com]

I watch The West Wing (which while having liberal values is rarely optimistic) and Yes, Minister ... I'm an idealist, but I'm also a huge cynic.

I'll have a look at it if I catch it ...

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Yes, Minister was brilliant and a relatively gentle treatment of how things worked thirty years ago. Since then two things have changed. First, Thatcher centralised power at no.10, effectively removing the Civil Service from policy decisions. Blair and Campbell then mastered "spin" so that nobody from the Cabinet on down has the information they need to challenge the inner circle and the press only get the information no. 10 feeds. The press daren't upset the applecart because the paper that did would be cut out of the loop for juicy sound bites. What goes on now is massively nastier than in the days of Heath or Wilson.

[itchyfidget.livejournal.com]

I had rather assumed so.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Okay, having read the comments I now know a bit more. It this available on DVD, do you think? (because fat chance of us ever getting in in Paris...)

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

I have it as .avi grokked from some Bit Torrent site.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

I wonder whether I could convince you to YouSendIt to me? I could possibly reciprocate, say with the entire first season of "Rome"? Or any episode of "Enterprise"? Or music?

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

Definitely worth watching. The first episode (last week) was absolutely hilarious - last night's less so, but still funny. And quite scary.